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This is a unique opportunity to purchase a 1959 Raleigh RM1C that looks like new. Apart from its superb condition, it has two other distinguishing features: it has a clutch – so is very usable – and the colour is, unusually, black.

Though this was a colour option at the time, in the late fifties most people associated black with earlier eras of austerity when black was the only colour choice; so they tended to opt for one of the brighter range of colours that Raleigh offered.

Although this RM1C (the ‘C’ denotes ‘clutch’) was built in 1959 (June 1959, according to the stamp on the engine, as seen in one of the photos), it was not registered until 1963, as 305 VBF, and I wonder if its colour was the result of it remaining unsold for 4 years, until that time?

The Raleigh RM1 was one of only a few genuinely British-built machines in an era dominated by European competition. It was only produced for 2 years; most had no clutch, so were not successful sellers. By 1960 Raleigh started importing the Motobecane Mobylette from France and subsequently sold it as the Raleigh. As the RM1 was Raleigh’s first model, and so many of us grew up around later Raleigh and Mobylette mopeds, the RM1 has a special place in the hearts of British cyclemotor collectors and riders.

Like most cycle manufacturers, Raleigh Industries decided to have a go at making mopeds, and in 1955 they launched the Hercules Grey Wolf, renamed the Her-cu-Motor. (The company, as TI, had already purchased Hercules in 1947). You can read its full story on Page 7 of the Cyclemaster Museum. As mentioned there, its production ceased in 1958.

That same year, presumably to replace the Her-cu-Motor, Raleigh introduced a more conventional moped than the Her-cu-Motor, which was called the Raleigh ‘Moped.

That name might seem a bit daft retrospectively, as ‘moped’ is now obviously a generic term for this style of machine. However, in the late fifties, the word ‘moped’ or ‘mo-ped’ was still new (a combination of the words ‘motor’ and ‘pedals’) and the French company Motobecane had successfully used the name ‘Mobylette’ for their machine, the word ‘mobylette’ or ‘moby’ becoming the generic term in France for mopeds. In Great Britain, the Motobecane moped was marketed as a ‘Mobylette’ and most people thought that was the name of the manufacturer

Despite such cunning marketing strategies, the Raleigh ‘Moped’ – now known by collectors as the RM1 – was not a success in the extremely competitive new 49cc market. Though it was sturdily built, the Raleigh had no suspension, and no gearbox or clutch. The model was only made for 2 years, and in 1960 Raleigh imported and sold the French Mobylette as its replacement.

Interestingly, the Raleigh Moped RM1 – a British-built machine sold at a time when the 49cc market was dominated by foreign competition – had another claim to fame – because the engine of the RM1 is actually derived from the Minimotor

“Externally it appears a quite neat and original design, but internal examination reveals that the porting and combustion chamber shape are derived from the Trojan Mini-Motor. Although the engine carried the name Sturmey-Archer and Raleigh claimed it was “designed by Sturmey-Archer Technicians” it was in fact built for Raleigh by BSA and designed by the Italian engineer Vincenti Piatti. Piatti was the designer of the Mini-Motor and he reused this design for the Sturmey-Archer engine. Mechanically, the engine is quite different from the Mini-Motor but the piston, porting and combustion chamber designs are the same.

This is revealed in Andrew Pattle’s article on the RM1 first published in March 1997, and found here:

“This, of course, meant that from the outset the RM1 was saddled with an engine which was already 10 years out of date. A Mini-Motor will push a pedal-cycle along quite adequately but the additional weight and drag of the Moped with its fat 2 inch tyre was hard work for the Sturmey-Archer engine and performance was sluggish, especially at low revs. Things were improved a little when Raleigh started to fit clutches to the RM1 (a conversion kit was available for older models). This manual clutch made the RM1 awkward to ride – much better than the almost-impossible-to-ride clutch-less version. Being a manual clutch led to an excess of levers on the handlebars. To save the rider the problem of growing an extra arm, Raleigh fitted coupled brakes. The right hand lever operated two cables, one to each brake. The left hand brake lever was now not needed but was retained, operating the rear brake, thus complying with the legal requirement to have two independent braking systems.”